If any of you are interested in beginning to declutter your home, but you get overwhelmed just thinking about it, I hope you’ll join me in this “Let It Go” Game! It is a super easy way to get started! You can find more details at my family, food, and faith blog Faithfully Nourished! Check it out on Instagram, too!

Many of you know I am an ALDI fan! After several years of not shopping there, I was reintroduced to them–and whenever I’m shopping “in the big town” (since I live in a tiny town), I am sure to stop by ALDI and pick up some produce, coffee, and other groceries.

I am excited to bring a fun giveaway to you today courtesy of ALDI. They recently transitioned a number of former Beaumont Coffee products to the new Barissimo brand in early 2015. The product taste and price remain the same. Also, the line features nine bagged and single serve coffee items, along with additional seasonal and Special Buy items available for a limited time.

If you haven’t tried ALDI coffee yet, you definitely should. The Coffee Cup line is also a great value if you have a Keurig–they are some of the most inexpensive cups that I have seen without combining a coupon and a sale.

One winner is going to receive a $25 ALDI Gift Certificate AND a three-month supply of Barrissimo coffee!!

To enter, just leave a comment below–you can share why you love ALDI, if you shop at ALDI, if you love coffee, whatever….just leave a comment! Each person may leave one comment as an entry.

**Bonus: If you share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, G+, or Pinterest, you may leave another comment telling me where you shared and leaving a link to your shared post. That means you may leave up to two comments–one with a comment and one with a sharing link!

Welcome to the Strong Healthy Mom Challenge update! Wondering what this is? Check out this post to join us. Be sure to leave a comment on this last post if you’ve been following along and getting healthier with us!

Do you have those weeks where you are just in survival mode? Yeah…me, too! My youngest sister went into labor five weeks early on Monday. After trying to stop the labor, they realized it wasn’t going to stop–so I had a new niece born Monday night. Unfortunately, her lungs aren’t quite as developed as the need to be, so we’ve been spending most of our days at the hospital or taking care of my four-year-old niece. It’s been a whirlwind, but it looks like Miss Ellie is making progress. We’re hoping her hospital stay is in the days…and not the weeks.

Anyway, the whole situation has been slightly stressful and concerning for us all, so my to-do list got shifted around, and this update was pushed down on the priority list. Hope you understand!

Here’s a look at my goals from last week:

1) I finished the FitnessBlender program, so I decided to start P90x3 again. I really love it because it is just 30 minutes and works well for me over the next few months! I also like having a schedule to keep me on track. – Completed the full week of P90X3!

2) Begin Revelation Wellness Instructor training! I can’t even believe I’m doing this, but I am! I’ve been feeling a pull towards this for about a month or two and with my recent “finding food freedom”, it is my heart’s hope and desire to see more moms find healing and freedom. – Started this training. I’ve had two meetings so far and lots of reading and bookwork. It’s awesome, and I’m still a bit overwhelmed that I’m even doing this, but I am convinced there is a reason I felt called to do it–even though I’m not sure what that is!

3) Sleep 8 hours each night. I have a ton going on this week–7 extra posts to be written, CC tutoring starts again on Thursday, a new Bible study, basement repair, working on video for my Home Management…for the Rest of Us eCourse on top of homeschooling and regular life, so I need to make sure I focus on getting enough sleep–or I will skip out on it. When I do that, it is so detrimental. - Met this goal four nights out of seven–so not perfect, but pretty good for the week we’ve had here!

Now, here is a look at my overall goals and what happened with them:

1) Increase my overall strength and fitness (I’ll be taking a fitness test and will compare results at the beginning and end). – I accomplished this. I feel a ton stronger, and I think it is all the weight lifting!

2) Lose 5 pounds. – I accomplished this, but decided I didn’t really care about it! I’m learning to love the body I’m in and not worry about the weight. As I follow God and learn to listen to and honor my hunger, I am confident whatever weight I may need to lose will be “released” (I got that idea of “releasing” the weight from the book Hunger Within). That is huge progress for me, so I am grateful for it.

So, I need you all to update me on your week…and how your overall goals went, too! Remember that you needed to comment on at least four out of the last eight weeks to be eligible to win the $100 Amazon or THM gift card. I will post the top winner next Monday, January 26, 2015.

P.S. Last week’s winner of the $10 Amazon gift card was comment #2 by Jonsherbies@.

Before we get very far, let me just warn you that if talking about these rather personal things isn’t comfortable to you, please stop reading now!! This is bound to be TMI. I did receive a package of sea sponge tampons for free in order to facilitate this review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!

When April from The Sea Sponge Company contacted me about trying sea sponge tampons, I was a little taken aback. Now, I have used a menstrual cup for several years now, so I am no stranger to alternative forms of period products: however, I had not even heard of sea sponge tampons before!

I contemplated turning her down, because it just seemed so weird. In fact, this is exactly the email I sent back to her:

April,

I admit I’m kinda freaked out by these! I do use a Diva cup (well, it’s actually called a “moon cup”), so I’m not a stranger to alternative kinds of things. I’m willing to take a look and try it out though!

She was so sweet and responded back with this:

Hey, Stacie!

I totally know how you feel, because I felt the same way before I tried them. It took me a couple days to get used to the idea of a reusable product. (This was before my husband and I founded The SeaSponge Company and actually ended up being the reason we founded The SeaSponge Company…to spread the word about seasponge tampons!) But once I did get adjusted to the idea, they proved to be sooo wonderful! My cramps got lighter. Periods got lighter. I didn’t have to use pads anymore, because the sponges never leaked on me, which I love….Anyway, I’ve yet to meet someone who gave them a good shot and didn’t fall in love, so I’m confident you will too!

She was exactly right. I have been using them for months and love, love, love them, and I want to share a little more about sea sponge tampons with you!

“Sea sponges have long been enjoyed as a premium natural solution for a wide variety of household and personal hygiene needs. Their popularity as a bathing luxury was recorded as far back as the Ancient Greeks. And though less well known, silk sea sponges also found great success and popularity in history as one of the first “tampons” to ever be used.

Through the ages, these marvels of the sea have stood the test of time. Sea Clouds™ Mediterranean Silk Sea Sponge Tampons offer women today a natural feminine hygiene solution that is healthy and safe, comfortable and convenient, affordable, and earth friendly!”

Benefits of Sea Sponge Tampons:

Shorter Period

This summer, we were traveling and I ended up getting some conventional pads at the store. I was using them instead of the menstrual cup, and I realized my period was anywhere from 6-7 days. When I switched over to the Sea Sponge tampons, my period days decreased dramatically. Right now, they are down to about 3 or 4. This is a HUGE benefit to me! Now, maybe it was just a coincidence, and I’m not sure it will happen for everyone, but I’ll take it! With all the chemicals and synthetic fibers in mainline pads, it has me wondering…

As for price, I know you can combine a coupon with a sale and get a pretty good deal on various period protection, but when you break it down over six months the price really isn’t too high for these Sea Sponge Tampons! I’m also a fan of supporting small family-owned businesses and purchasing natural & organic products when possible.

Sorry for the underscore…just don’t want crazy stuff to show up in my ads. This is a benefit that you might want to know about, so head over to the Sea Clouds Sea Sponge Tampons 101 page to find out more!

No More Cramps

Again, this could totally be just my experience, but I haven’t had cramps for months now. I haven’t done any research, but I’m wondering if somehow the sea minerals could be part of that.

Never in a million years would I have thought I would use sea sponge tampons (mainly because I had never heard of them), but I am so happy to have found them. I definitely recommend them, and I’d love to answer any questions you have about them in the comments below! Be sure to check out the tampons at The Sea Sponge Company as well as the other sea sponge products they have for cleaning, cosmetics, and more!

About Stacie…

I'm mom to three girls, wife to my college sweetheart, former elementary teacher turned homeschool mom, mess-maker extraordinaire (I'm working on that...) and lover of all things frugal! I'm learning to simplify my life -- while keeping my creative side intact. You can find kids activities, home management & healthy living tips, money-saving deals, and whatever else I dream up here at MotherhoodOnADime.com!